June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Li Ka-shing, Asia’s richest man,
says he has trouble sleeping at night because of a widening
wealth gap and waning trust that could become “the new normal”
if left unaddressed.

The chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. called on the
government to introduce fresh impetus to enable dynamic and
flexible redistribution policies, in his address to students at
China’s Shantou University, according to a speech posted on the
website of the Li Ka Shing Foundation on June 27. The growing
scarcity of resources is also keeping him awake, he said.

Li’s comments come as the debate over how to elect Hong
Kong’s next leader in 2017 divides the city, with more than
787,000 people voting in an unofficial referendum against
demands by China to control a leadership election. Popular
discontent has risen with a record wealth gap and a doubling in
housing prices since 2009, spurring calls for more government
action.

“Part of the reason for the activism in the city is the
sense that many of the young people feel that the system is
unfair, that it is skewed to helping the rich,” said David
Zweig, professor of political science at the Hong Kong
University of Science & Technology. Li “is recognizing that
part of the problem in Hong Kong is an economic problem,” he
said.

One in five residents, or about 1.3 million people, live
under the poverty line, according to a government report last
September. Hong Kong’s Gini coefficient, a measure of income
inequality, rose to 0.537 in 2011 from 0.525 a decade earlier,
the highest since records were kept in 1971.

‘Howl of Rage’

“Trust enables us to live in harmony, without which more
and more people will lose faith in this system, breeding
skepticism towards what is fair and just, doubting everything
and believing all has turned sour and rancid,” said Li, who
turns 86 next month.

“The howl of rage from polarization and the crippling cost
of welfare dependence is a toxic cocktail commingled to stall
growth and foster discontent,” he said.

Li has spoken out against Occupy Central with Love and
Peace, an activist group that’s threatening mass sit-ins at the
financial district should electoral reforms not meet their
demands. Such tactics will paralyze the city, drive away
tourists and companies, according to business chambers, brokers
and accountants.

The billionaire has also said Hong Kong’s people need to
stop complaining about Chinese tourists, who help support the
city’s economy.

School Founder

Li ranks 17th among the world’s richest individuals, with a
net worth of $32.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg
Billionaires Index. Shantou University, founded in 1981 by Li,
is the only privately funded public university in China,
according to its website. The Li Ka Shing Foundation has donated
HK$6 billion ($774 million) to the university, the website says.

“I fear that intensifying resource scarcity will pose
challenges of immense proportions to our future,” Li said. “We
need to act now to turn challenges into opportunities.
Technology is no panacea, but we need technological and
innovative interventions to increase our options.”

Government needs to lead change and inject a “strong dose
of liberating elixir” into the education system, he said. The
failure to invest in education “is tantamount to a crime
against the future,” Li said.

Crumbling Trust

“What is most unsettling for me is that trust, the bedrock
of an enlightened society, is crumbling before our eyes,” Li
said. “Without a modicum of trust, society will downward spiral
into a painful vicious cycle.”

Tension in Hong Kong has increased after the Chinese
government issued a white paper on June 10 saying the city’s
high degree of autonomy isn’t an inherent power and its leader
must be a patriot.

That’s given impetus to organizers of Occupy Central, who
urging residents to join an annual protest march on July 1, the
anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule. About 87.8
percent of the voters in the unofficial referendum said Hong
Kong lawmakers should reject any proposal that doesn’t meet
international democracy standards.

“It may not be useful in a legal sense, but it will arouse
the attention of the Chinese government,” said Ian Auyang, 21,
a second-year university student who brought his cousin to vote
at a polling station in Causeway Bay on Sunday.

Candidate Vetting

China has said candidates for the 2017 election of Hong
Kong’s new leader must be vetted by a committee.

The threatened sit-in has drawn opposition from groups
including the world’s four-biggest accounting companies, foreign
commerce chambers and brokers, who say it may lead to an exodus
of businesses from the city and hurt the economy.

The Hong Kong Association of Banks is concerned the planned
protests could get out of control and have a negative impact on
the city’s status as a global financial center, the Hong Kong
Economic Times reported yesterday, citing association chairman
He Guangbei.

Lawyers in the territory on June 27 marched through the
central business district in silence, in protest against the
policy paper they said jeopardizes judicial independence, the
South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

“Today when you rang the bell of truth, what promise did
you make to the future? When dawn breaks, is today the tomorrow
you worried about yesterday?” Li said in his speech. “Your
dedication and undertaking to be the custodian of the future is
the best antidote for everyone’s insomnia.”